


You've Got Kudos!

by kuhlaine



Category: Glee
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, celebrity!klaine, famous!klaine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:53:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26032180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuhlaine/pseuds/kuhlaine
Summary: In which Blaine gets tipsy and posts fanfiction about himself and Kurt on Archive of Our Own.
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel
Comments: 35
Kudos: 186





	You've Got Kudos!

**Author's Note:**

> And today I present to you: a fanfic about a fanfic. Happy Friday!

Fame is something Blaine’s not sure he’ll ever grow accustomed to. Perhaps it would’ve been easier to adjust to the flattering, but somewhat unsettling, knowledge that total strangers are invested in his life if he had been more popular growing up. Even during his time with the Warblers, he wouldn’t have considered himself ‘popular’ – he was well liked, sure, but he wasn’t admired or envied. Or, at least not by anyone that wasn’t Kurt.

Kurt takes to it all much more easily than Blaine does. In fact, he lives for it. It feels like the most satisfying pay off for years of taunting, bullying, and existing to some people solely as the punchline of a bad joke. He likes the spotlight, being a mentor or a beacon of hope for kids just like him. It’s one of Blaine’s favorite things about watching Kurt become the star he’s meant to be – watching him use his platform for others.

It’s a gradual process – it starts off with a sudden influx of followers on Instagram when their latest off-Broadway production is announced on Playbill. At first, Blaine assumes they’re spam bots, sent to try to DM him mysterious links that’ll infect his phone beyond repair. But, as their respective follower counts grow, they begin to realize that there are real people behind these various accounts.

It’s not until much later in Blaine’s career, shortly after he lands his first major role in a big budget picture, that it hits him.

He’s scrolling aimlessly through his Instagram, looking for a particular photo he took of Kurt on their trip to Paris last summer, when he notices them – a pair of Instagram accounts that pop up in the comments of nearly every single photo.

blaineanderstan21, and klaine4ever.

They’re _celebrities,_ he realizes with a gasp _._ They have fans, admirers, people who find hope and joy in not only his own work, but his relationship with Kurt. It’s odd, knowing that someone cares enough about him to have an entire account dedicated to posting photos of him – photos he didn’t even know existed – but flattering. He doesn’t let himself sink too far into the rabbit hole, not wanting to cross the invisible line he’s drawn in the sand to keep his private life just that: private.

It’s not until Kurt and Blaine tackle the challenge of playing on screen lovers in a Hulu limited series that the fanfiction starts to roll in. It may have existed before then, he wouldn’t be surprised if it did – but it becomes almost impossible to ignore in the months following _Dalton Boys’_ premiere. It dominates the Blaine Anderson and Kurt Hummel tags on Instagram – fanart and cover art and screenshots of Notes app scribblings. A search for the word ‘klaine’ brings up their very own tag on Archive of Our Own before it brings up any of their recent interviews.

Blaine is intrigued by the idea – curious about the worlds their fans have created for them, about the countless versions of themselves that now exist in fiction. Kurt avoids it as best as he can, finding the idea of someone putting words into his mouth more eerie than flattering.

Blaine tells himself he won’t go looking for it. He knows that blurring that line between himself and their apparent fandom won’t end well – as curious as he may be about what others have to say about him and his relationship with his husband. He stands firm, he won’t go down the rabbit hole. He _won’t_ go looking for fanfiction about himself.

* * *

Two months into quarantine, he gives in. He does it almost without thinking – like scratching a persistent itch. He finishes texting Sam his thoughts on the latest chapter of the Luke/Han fic they’ve been following since April, and minutes later, he’s browsing Blaine Anderson tag. 

It’s odd – seeing his name next to tags like “Enemies to Lovers,” “Fake Dating,” “Arranged Marriage,” and even “idk man this is just porn.” He quickly revises his search to only include PG content – he draws the line at reading smut about himself. He scrolls through the first few pages – scoffing at a coffee shop AU pairing him and Rachel together, before settling on _A Hand Meant to Hold Yours,_ a 2,000 word drabble depicting Kurt and Blaine’s first date.

It’s cute, if strange. He doesn’t agree with their portrayal of Kurt – painting him as much crueler and quippier than he usually is, but he can’t hold that against them. Kurt’s always maintained a much more intimidating public persona, reasoning that it makes drawing the line between his personal and professional lives that much easier.

He scrolls through the handful of comments, scoffing as the readers praise the fic’s dialogue. Please, Blaine thinks to himself, Kurt would never say half of these things. He’s considering finding something else to read when Kurt steps into their bedroom, Blaine shutting off his phone and shoving it out of sight as quickly as he can.

“You okay?” Kurt asks, looking at his husband with a quirked brow.

“Yep, fine,” Blaine mumbles, pushing away all thoughts of fanfiction aside as he grabs his Kindle, turning his focus back to actual fictional characters.

* * *

Once Blaine scratches the fanfiction itch, it returns tenfold. He wants to know more about what people have written about him, about Kurt, about their lives together. He wants to read about how others have characterized him, what things they’ve had him say or how they think that he thinks. He knows better than to let his curiosity get the better of him – he’s bound to learn something he doesn’t want to know sooner or later. So, he does what he deems the safest way to scratch that itch. He writes his own story. About himself.

He’s not sure that it really counts as fanfiction when he’s writing about himself. He doesn’t even fabricate an alternate universe or a meet-cute scenario – he writes about his and Kurt’s trip to Paris two summers ago, about sitting at a café together, gazing into each other’s eyes, and slowly realizing that they’re ready to start a family together.

It’s fine, this is totally normal, he tells himself. He’s just flexing his creative muscles after letting them get rusty over the past several months. This is good, this is just him writing about what he knows. He even lets Kurt read it, beaming when Kurt rewards him with an enthusiastic kiss and a gold star sticker – praising the piece as one of his favorites, even if he is biased.

But, after several glasses of wine on a Friday night, Blaine does something very, very stupid. He doesn’t even realize what he’s done until the following morning, willing away his hangover with a cup of black coffee and a bowl of oatmeal as he settles in at the kitchen table to push through reading all of his emails.

 _You’ve got kudos!_ the email at the top of his inbox reads. His brow furrows as he clicks on the email, realizing in a moment of horror that he’d _actually_ posted his “Klaine” fanfiction last night – and, to make matters worse, people had _actually_ read it. He opens up Ao3 as quickly as he can, swallowing hard as he reviews his account to confirm that yes, he did actually post something last night, and yes, it is about him and Kurt.

The piece – which his drunken-self decided to aptly title, _Oh, There You Are,_ has 54 kudos and 214 reads, which is 214 more reads than he feels comfortable with. He goes right to the delete button, hovering over the confirmation page when something catches his interest.

_Inbox (1)_

Once again, his curiosity gets the better of him. As mortified as he is that he decided to put something so intimate about himself and Kurt out into the world, the devil’s advocate in him wants to know what other people thought of it. The rational part of him tells him to delete the work before Kurt can ever find out that it was posted in the first place – but he lets the irrational part of him win, and clicks on his inbox.

_klainediddyklaine: TBH, your Blaine characterization kinda threw me for a loop. This was still super cute tho!_

“Seriously?” Blaine mutters to himself as he reads the comment two more times. How is it possible for him to get Blaine’s characterization wrong? He _is_ Blaine.

“Seriously what?” Kurt asks as he pads into the kitchen, ruffling Blaine’s sleep mussed curls as he pours himself a cup of coffee.

Blaine goes stiff in his seat, shutting his laptop and covering his nervousness with a long sip of coffee. “Nothing,” he mumbles, hoping Kurt is off his tail – but, of course, Kurt knows him better than that.

Kurt doesn’t even need to say anything. He pulls up a chair opposite Blaine and stares at him with that signature knowing look, unblinking and rigid until Blaine finally breaks down. Kurt isn’t as upset as he would’ve thought – in fact he breaks out into knee slapping, belly clutching laughter, apologizing when he catches Blaine’s unamused frown.

“C’mon, that’s pretty funny – you have to admit,” he prods, wiping a tear out of the corner of his eye.

Blaine crosses his arms, pouting childishly as he mumbles, “I didn’t think it was funny.”

Kurt rolls his eyes, pushing himself up from the table and giving Blaine a kiss on the cheek as he makes his way back to the kitchen to finish making breakfast. “Your version of Blaine will always be my favorite, critics be damned,” he teases, rewarding him with one last sweet kiss before walking away.

Blaine knows he should move past it, but he can’t help but stew. He opens his laptop back up, rereading the piece he’d posted, combing through for any details about himself that might seem off or unusual. He only grows more and more frustrated as he rereads the piece for a second and third time. His characterization is spot on – these are _actual_ words that he said that day! Sure, he dramatized his internal monologue a bit, but not to the extent that he no longer sounded like himself.

He groans, returning to his homepage and going back to delete the story when a new message appears in his inbox. He scoffs, assuming that it’s yet another comment tearing his characterization of his own self to shreds – but, once again, his curiosity gets the better of him.

_actualkurthummel: Best Blaine characterization I’ve ever read ;)_

Blaine chokes on his latest sip of coffee, sputtering as he spins around in his seat to look at Kurt. He’s leaning over the kitchen island, phone in his hand and a smirk on his face.

“I made sure to leave you kudos too,” he says with a wink before tucking his phone away and turning back to the stove.

Blaine grins, launching out of his seat to pull Kurt in for a bone breaking hug. “Best husband ever,” he teases before cupping his jaw, and pulling him in for an appreciative kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! :)


End file.
